CES MP3 and portable video wrap-up

MP3s and PVPs hit prime time

After a record holiday season for MP3 player sales and legal music downloads, it's safe to say that the portable MP3 and PVP lifestyle has hit the mainstream. And now that CES 2006 has come and gone, CNET has enough MP3-related products and services to review for the rest of the year. The highlights? First, a posse of impressive MP3 players--most with photo and video playback as standard features--that definitely gives the iPod family a run for its money. Second, the new Windows Media Player 11 (Vista), which will become the foundation for a Windows Media explosion both in the home and on the go; plus, hot new music and video services will give users the content they need. Third, portable video players that are sleeker and more capable than ever, including the new generation of devices running Microsoft's PMC operating system. Finally, satellite radio can be accessed from just about anywhere, thanks to next-gen portable receivers, which also integrate MP3 and WMA playback.

A new crop of iPod killers
We mention iPods and their killers for good reason: The iPod enjoys a 75 percent market share for MP3 players; nobody else has more than 11 percent. Presenting iPod killer number one: the 30GB Creative Zen Vision:M, CNET's Best of Show winner at CES 2006. This stylish $330 MP3 player may be thicker than the waiflike iPod, but it has an FM tuner/recorder; a voice recorder; compatibility with a bunch of video formats, including WMV 9, MPEG-4, and DivX; and better video battery life than the iPod. The 2.5-inch screen is the same size as the iPod's, but photos and video look much better, with 260,000 colors and an OLED look and feel. Throw in PIM functionality, much-improved navigation controls, a choice of five colors, integration with the upcoming Windows Media Player 11, and compatibility with fledgling audio and video subscription services, and you have WMA's answer to the iPod.

iPod killer number two comes from memory experts SanDisk: The Sansa e200 series is a direct challenge to the iPod Nano and in fact offers a much better selection of features than its razor-thin Apple counterpart. The diminutive WMA player comes in 2GB, 4GB, and 6GB sizes (SanDisk is the first to hit the 6GB flash mark) and features a photo- and video-friendly 1.8-inch screen, as well as an FM tuner, a voice recorder, a MicroSD expansion slot, and compatibility with Audible and subscription services--whew. Thanks to an influx of new and more capable players, we think 2006 is the year that Apple loses some market share. One side note: MP3-playing cell phones are not a joke, and as soon as we see more Rokr 2-like phones, as well as more competition and flexibility in the service space (see the Sprint Music Store and the Verizon V Cast Music store), consumers will be downloading tracks wherever, whenever.

New-look Windows Media Player
When Windows Media Player 11 is available as a beta later this spring, Windows XP and Vista users should be pretty pleased. Redesigned from the ground up, the new media player looks and feels like it went on a diet and lost 140 pounds. A clean interface, smartly integrated pull-down menus, and a light and fluffy rather than heavy feel make WMP 11 feel like a whole new application. In fact, this is what WMP 10 should have been. But beyond pure aesthetic improvements lie a revamped performance engine that can handle millions of data files, an intelligent search engine that will find and organize your content in milliseconds, and integration of a dozen or so audio and video shops, including the full integration of the new MTV/Microsoft audio- and video-subscription service, dubbed Urge. Windows users and WMA fan boys can finally be proud of their media player, one that gives the user a huge advantage over iTunes: choice.

Portable video players
We didn't need CES to gauge the strength of the latest portable video players (PVPs), which by the way are the MP3 players of the future. Cowon's delicious A2 and Archos's killer AV500 debuted right before CES. However, as more video services appear (see Starz Vongo and Google Video), you know that PVPs--or PMPs, as they are also called--will take off in 2006. We saw lots of stuff in PVP land, including the introduction of gear from U.S. market newcomer LG; the affordable Zvue 400 and 500, the latter featuring integrated Wi-Fi; and a new crop of devices from Toshiba, Tatung, and LG, utilizing the updated version of Microsoft's awesome PMC software in a traditional MP3 form factor. With PVPs, the hardware is all set, nearing perfection, even. It's all about the content, and we're seeing it in the form of Starz Vongo and other nascent video services that will lay the groundwork for the MPEG-4 revolution.

Satellite radio integration
We've been waiting for an MP3 player with integrated XM or Sirius radio for a year now. Sure, the Pioneer AirWave, the Delphi XM2Go, and other stand-alone devices could get the job done, but poor signal reception and no option to listen to your own tracks had us lusting for more. New products such as Samsung's neXus and Sirius's S50 seem half-baked, though they are recommended for those who live in their cars. What gets us all riled up are products such as Samsung's Helix and Pioneer's Inno, which are virtually the same product. These compact gadgets allow you to take XM radio practically anywhere (where you can get a signal), and you get to store some of your MP3 and WMA files as well. The Helix and Inno both allow you to record satellite content, then view, organize, and play back the same content in whatever way you wish.